istoryworld
Events relating to south africa
A primate of this period, at ease both in the trees and on the ground, is probably the common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees and humans
Various species of ape develop the habit of walking upright on two feet
Certain primates, in eastern and southern Africa, are by now sufficiently like humans to be classed as hominids
Australopithecus Boisei lives in East Africa, and is possibly the first hominid species to use stone tools
Humans in coastal areas of South Africa extend their diet to include shellfish and other marine sources of food
In the Blombos cave in South Africa stones are engraved with patterns of lines, either decorative or practical (as a form of tally)
Painted and engraved images, on the rock face in a cave near Twyfelfontein in Namibia, date from this period
Africa south of the equatorial forests is largely inhabited by the Khoisan, of whom the San and the Hottentots are the modern survivors
Phoenicians sail round the Cape of Good Hope and bring back the surprising news that the sun was seen to the north of them
A trading centre at Mapungubwe, on the Limpopo, evolves into a state ruled by a king in a zimbabwe
The kingdom of Great Zimbabwe displaces Mapungubwe as the dominant Shona power in this region of southern Africa
The Maravi Confederacy is formed by Bantu tribes and soon wins control over a large region between Lake Nyasa and the Zambezi
Bartolomeu Dias, sailing for the king of Portugal, becomes the first European navigator to round the Cape of Good Hope
The Portuguese establish trading posts in east Africa, on the coast of Mozambique
Jan van Riebeeck establishes a Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope
The Dutch in South Africa purchase slaves to do domestic and agricultural work
Dutch nomads, pressing far north from Cape Town, become known as the Trekboers
Dutch Boers begin calling themselves Afrikaners, to emphasize that Africa is their native land
With the Dutch entering the war on the side of the French, Britain seizes their valuable Cape colony in South Africa
The Treaty of Amiens restores the Cape of Good Hope to the Netherlands
The British recapture the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch
The British impose the so-called Hottentot Code, protecting Africans at the Cape but also tying them to employers' farms
The congress of Vienna leaves the Cape of Good Hope in British hands
Napoleon is sent to a more secure place of exile, the rocky Atlantic island of St Helena
Shaka wins control of the Zulu and begins to build them into a formidable military machine
